Thermal conductivity enhancement of erythritol phase change material with percolated aluminum filler

This paper describes a high thermal conductive phase change composite (PCC) of erythritol and Al filler with percolating network. The PCCs with various Al amounts were prepared by both melt-dispersion method and hot-press (HP) method. The effective thermal conductivity of PCCs was measured, and the distribution status of the erythritol and Al filler was observed. The percolated filler network in the PCCs can be easily formed by HP method, which is important for enhancing the thermal conductivity of PCCs. The PCM particles with nonuniform particle size and high packing ratio is essential for the formation of filler percolating network. A high thermal conductivity of 30 W m(-1) K-1 can be obtained at a filler fraction of 42.2 vol%.